Advanced Special Topics Courses (390’s and 490’s) – Fall 2016

Fall, 2016, Offerings

Courses numbered in the 390’s and 490’s are offered only once or twice and focus on a specialized topic. These courses are rarely appropriate for first-year students.

ART 390 Graphix: Art by Design
Richard Schindler, TTh 3-4:15

An investigation of the myriad relationships between text and image since the turn of the last century.  Students examine the various uses of words and pictures in modernist/post-modernist art, book illustration, posters, advertising, typography, and other aspects of graphic design. Included are topics such as art in the service of mass media, the mutual effects of popular culture and fine arts, the development of new kinds of narratives in modernist art, and the significance of text in contemporary art-making.  This seminar class consists of slide lectures, readings, discussions, in-class reports, and group projects. Prerequisite: ART 112, or any 200-level class in Art History.

BIO 395 Parasitology CANCELLED

ENVSC 390 Climate Change Policy
Professor Betherum, MW 11-12:15

A survey of climate change policy from the local to the international scale. Students explore the political, social, economic, and historical aspects of climate change in order to understand the obstacles and opportunities involved in creating effective environmental policy at multiple scales of governance.  Students gain a basic understanding of climate change science as a foundation for the analysis of enacted or proposed policy solutions while exploring innovative local-level action around the world. Prerequisite: ENVSC 110 is recommended but not required.

GHS 491 Global Health and Nutrition
Professor Darrouzet-Nardi, TTh 11-12:15

An evaluation of selected global health challenges in the area of nutrition, with particular focus on maternal and child health. Students explore the bio-social origins of various nutritional concerns, including macro- and micro-nutrient deficiencies, food insecurity, food safety, and disparities in heights and weights. Students analyze how nutritional status develops within specific ecological and cultural contexts and examine the ethical and health implications of nutritional disparities. Critical thinking about nutrition science and policy is a key component, as students examine the evidence for nutrition interventions and evaluate the effectiveness of various policies to improve nutrition and health outcomes globally. Prerequisites: GHS 130 and junior or senior standing.

Note: This course can serve as a capstone course for GHS minors OR can fulfill an Area 4 (Policy, Resources, and Economics) course for GHS majors or minors.

GHS 492 Culture and Health
Professor Silva, TTh 11-12:15

An advanced level seminar-style class that explores the role of cultural and social factors in health and medicine. Using both theoretical texts and specific case studies, students learn to analyze health practices within specific historical, cultural, institutional, and political contexts. Students examine the ways in which health, disease, and medicine function as contested terms that privilege certain visions of individuals and institutions over others with real-world consequences. Prerequisites: GHS 130 and permission of the instructor. Not open to first-year students.

Note: This class can be substituted for GHS 370 for GHS majors.

GHS 494 Global Health Experiences: Reflection, Synthesis and Practice
Professor Waggett and the Global Health faculty, W 3-4:15

A preparatory course for experiences at approved domestic and international sites that offer global health internships, practica, or cultural immersion opportunities. Students examine challenges of cultural competency across a variety of work sectors that serve global health; become familiar with relevant political, religious, and cultural practices; and explore existing data and narratives of the lives of those living both in and outside of the mainstream. Within their specific research areas, students identify the data sources and evidence-based practices for the geographic focal area. Students evaluate strengths and gaps of the practice broadly and of their current understanding and experience. Prerequisites: GHS 130, FSGHS 201, and permission of the instructor. Credit: two semester hours.

HIST 390 The Third Reich and the Holocaust
Professor B. Miller, TTh 3-4:15

An investigation of the origins, rise, and outcomes of National Socialism in Germany. Students examine the role of nationalism, racism, and anti-Semitism in Nazi ideology; consent and coercion in the evolution of Nazi control; everyday life in Germany before 1939; the role of the Second World War in the realization of the Holocaust; motivations of the perpetrators, collaborators, and bystanders; elements of resistance; historiographical debates over the Holocaust; and the manner in which the Holocaust has been popularly represented and memorialized. Prerequisite: HIST 159 or one course in European history.

HIST 391 Migration and the “New Europe”
Professor B. Miller, TTh 11-12:15

An investigation of the role of planned and unplanned migrations in the social and cultural transformations of twentieth-century Europe. Students investigate the economic, political, social, and cultural sources and byproducts of migration into European society from the late nineteenth century through today. This migration history is framed through various conceptions of globalization and considers the prospects of and impediments to the growth of multiethnic societies.